The squad will train together throughout the next 12 months, including a tour to Jersey next August, and the final touring team of 12 will be selected in September 2010.

The team management would like to thank everyone who applied:- with over 50 applicants to whittle down to just 21, our job was not made easy, which shows the strength and depth of Under 25 shooting in Great Britain.

I am honoured and privileged to have been selected as Captain of the Great Britain Under 25 Rifle Team to compete in the Under 25 World Championships in Brisbane, Australia in October 2011. I am delighted that Stuart Young and Ed Dickson have agreed to be my Vice-Captain and Adjutant, with Matt Ensor taking on the role of non-touring Team Manager.

Having been involved with the Under 25 movement over the last few years I have seen the talent that youth shooting in Great Britain has to offer, and have every confidence that I will be able to take a team to Australia that are more than capable of retaining the crown of Under 25 World Champions.

We plan to select a squad of around 20 after the 2009 Imperial meeting, and then select the final touring team from within that squad after the 2010 Imperial.

The preliminary itinerary is for the tour to last for around 4 weeks from the final week of September, with a week’s touring phase at the beginning. We hope to have the itinerary finalised by this year’s Imperial meeting, with a rough estimate of costs.

We welcome applications from anyone who will be Under 25 on the 12th October 2011 who wishes to be considered for the tour. If you would like to apply, please forward me a brief shooting CV along with details of any coaching experience that you may have had and full contact details. The deadline is the end of the Imperial Meeting 2009.
More information about the tour is available by contacting any of the tour management directly, or by joining the Facebook Group: Great Britain Under 25 Rifle Team - World Championships, Australia, 2011.

In the 2009 Purples match, shot over the weekend of the 25th and 26th of April, the Under 25 Team shot a very respectable score of 1165.134 to come 6th place overall (beating several county teams), being 3rd highest club team, and 2nd highest team in the afternoon session. Highest score in the team was Tom Hunter with 149.20 (10th overall). James Lothian, the Under 25 team captain, came 3rd overall in the individual competition scoring 150.17 shooting for the victorious Surrey Team in the morning, and Sandy Walker, who coached the U25 team, came 6th on 149.23 with the 3rd placed London team.
Well done to everyone involved in what turned out to be a good afternoon's shooting by the U25 team.

I am very pleased to have been appointed as the Great Britain Under 25 Bisley Captain for 2009. I am currently putting together a committee, please see below if you are interested. Our dates for the year are here:

Treasurer – Manage the accounts and tell us when we really can’t afford things. We’re very keen to keep the costs of shooting as low as possible so Under 25 shooting is accessible to as many people as possible. You will need to be able to add up and not have any previous convictions for embezzlement.

Secretary – Work with the captain on the admin side of things making sure that at no point we’re breaking the law. You will probably need to know how to spell.

Social Secretary × 2 – Organise any social activities we engage in. Examples are the Under 25 BBQ and potentially the Pimm’s Tent/Bullet Ball. You will need to like people.

Communications Officer – Run the website/mailing lists/Facebook etc. A knowledge of computers will be handy and maybe some design skills.

Please email me me if you are interested in any of these roles or ones that you have just made up at dickstearn hotmail.com (@ removed for spambot protection).

I would like to announce that there is going to be an Under 25 Training weekend on the weekend of 21st and 22nd June. This is open to all Under-25 club members (and all those who are eligible and would like to become members!), and the programme is as follows:

Glorious weather has been arranged and there is to be a fine barbecue on the Saturday night. There is accommodation available at the Inns of Court for a mere £9.50 a night. Shooting costs will depend upon how many people we have, but will of course be kept as low as possible.

Please contact me to let me know if you can make it! You are entirely welcome to choose which bits you want to do and come and go as you please, so don’t worry if you can’t make the whole weekend.

I will also be requiring some people to help out with fundraising events during the Imperial meeting including the U25 BBQ on first Sunday. Please let me know if you will be available for this.

Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions and do let me know if you can make the training weekend.

Best regards,

Ed Welford
U25 Club President

**Sign up on Facebook - if you can't find the event message myself or Ed for an invite**

I am delighted to announce that Ed Welford has been appointed Great Britain Under 25 Bisley Captain and as such will be selecting the team for this year’s International Under 25 match during the Imperial Meeting. As per the Under 25 club constitution, Ed will also be taking on the role of President of the Under 25 Club and will be responsible for the running of the club this year.